WEATHER BLOG: A Few Thoughts

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Coming to you from the home office Thursday afternoon. We were just too busy during our coverage of this snow to stop and breathe, much less blog. But I did want to touch base, and roll out a few thoughts.

I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of the staff of WJZ today.

You see our smiling faces, and I am sure you understand there are others, behind the scenes, who get the program on. But WOW the work across the board today was just impressive.

There were crew members who left their homes at 1:30 to drive in.

There was our building super who, all night long, plowed, not only our driveway but the entire length of TV Hill. All night long. (TV Hill is the highest point in Baltimore City. No plow job, no chance of getting to work. (BTW he did all the streets leading up to the station. Our neighbors benefitted, too.)

All of our top managers slept at the station…in sleeping bags, on couches, heck anywhere one could stretch out.

Chelsea Ingram, still fresh off of shoulder surgery, slept at the station when she didn’t have to. Why? Because it was a big storm and she is a very dedicated meteorologist. A legit weather geek :-) She, Tim, and Bob have worked this issue for days and the due diligence paid off for you.

There are a load of other stories like that.

Once on the air, the control room folks just rocked. (That is where the frenzy is. In the studio we are insulated from the hustle.)

In the studio, years of experience by our techs assured a smooth broadcast. For hours at a time.

In the newsroom, staffers got the stories done. Directed our live crews. And planned each half hour you saw as only news pros can.

Out in the field our live crews, under really bad conditions, were superstars. Kudos to “The Ronster,” Mike Schuh and their photographers. Pro game. Period.

I could go on and on. But you get the idea. This is a big league outfit and we proved it today. (Not that we don’t every day, but under exceptional conditions the cream rises.)

A job is a job. There are times when you throw your hands up and say, “Enough of this.” But there are times when you leave work and realize just how lucky you are to be a part of it. Such was the case today.

Now onto the weather.

Many of us did get very lucky today.That hit of warmer air, and rain really helped with the road, and pavement conditions.

When Don and I drove in (with 8 inches already on the ground and roads), I would never have bet an afternoon, or aftermath this “easy.” But there is more to come before this powerful low pulls out. But we did get a chance to push away from the table and take a deep breath. Also when you realize the impact elsewhere we really are livin’ large to be honest.

Keep your eye on that clipper rolling at us Friday night. (As of the timing right now, looks like overnight into Sat a.m). We could see a few inches Saturday morning.

On a happier note there are indications that by the end of next week we’ll see this cold air move back north, and some very mild conditions replace it. How mild…50s? Works for me.

OK, that will do it for now. Thank you for being a part of us, and our work. No You, no Eyewitness News. Years ago we had a promotional line that came from something we all used to say behind the scenes. It was true then, and is true now: